He Is That Guy

The guild members, who’d been loudly fussing a minute ago saying how much they “regret” this, finally seemed to get their heads straight and started messaging me questions.
[Guild] MochaBbang: So

[Guild] MochaBbang: Sleepy-nim, what’s your deal??
[Guild] MochaBbang: You’re seriously joining our guild for real?
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Yeahㅡㅡ

[Guild] LaggingLikeHell: Gasp
[Guild] LaggingLikeHell: ㄷㄷㄷㄷ
[Guild] Hwaseoun: Maybe rethink that choice?

[Guild] Haerun: ㅠㅠThen that’s that
[Guild] Haerun: Guildmaster’s gonna declare guild war
[Guild] Haerun: No other guild will take you in after that..

[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: You two made up or something?
[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: You suddenly joinin’, kinda weird ngl;
Yeah, I guess from the guild members’ perspective this whole thing must look shady as hell.

But how do I explain this? Do I really need to tell them I ran into Fever guild, got my staff jacked by their guild master…
‘It’s complicated.’
Just like EveningGlow planted an alt in Fever, there might be a Fever member hiding in here too.

Current headcount in the guild: around 30, including AFK folks. And it’s late at night, so that’s already a slim crowd. Plus, guild chat’s visible even if someone’s AFK or offline, which makes this risky.
No jumping to conclusions. If I want my staff back without screwing this up, I need to be careful.
Just as I finished sorting through my thoughts, a whisper came through.

[Whisper] Yoo Chae: Hyung
[Whisper] Yoo Chae: About the staff thing
[Whisper] Yoo Chae: Probably best not to mention it in guild chat
I was a little impressed we had the same idea. I shot him a reply.

[Whisper] ImSoSleepy: Yeah
[Whisper] ImSoSleepy: That’s probably safer
Joining EveningGlow itself wasn’t a bad play. Fever’s probably thinking I freaked out or got pissed and ran off to some strong guild.

Let them think whatever they want. What matters is I’m after that staff. If even a hint of that leaks to Fever, those bastards will never let that newbie wear it during the selection tourney.
Which means I’d lose my only shot at killing the newbie and getting the staff back.
Best to keep this between me, Yoo Chae, DrinkWaterPlz, Let’sTripleJump, and Haerun for now. If they were involved in the selection tourney meeting, they should be trustworthy.

‘Alright… staff situation stays hidden…’
But how do I spin coming back to EveningGlow?
Hands resting on the keyboard, I stared into space for a second before sighing and reaching a conclusion.

This is annoying. Screw it, I’ll just bullshit.
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Yeah
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: I made up with Yoo Chae

[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: ?
[Guild] MochaBbang: ?
[Guild] TheHunter: Huh? For real?

[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: What the hell, when did that happen?
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Just now
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: We even added each other as friends

[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: ㄷㄷㄷ
[Guild] ManaIsDryGuy: Wow… must be real then
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ngl if Guildmaster did that

[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: I’d be screaming scam lol
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: But if Sleepy-nim’s saying it, guess it’s legitㅋㅋ
[Guild] Hwaseoun: lmfaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Haerun: Guildmaster hit the jackpot huhㅎ
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: C’mon, buy us a round
Thankfully, the ones who knew about the staff situation kept their mouths shut. Sharp crowd, I’ll give ‘em that.

Ignoring the flood of guild chat, Yoo Chae messaged me.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyyung
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Which raid should we grind?ㅎ.ㅎ

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Seltern
[Guild] Yoo Chae: It’s late today though
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Let’s go tomorrow

[Guild] Yoo Chae: Together, with me!
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Oh, Seltern?
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: The new newbie has to run Seltern too

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: This works out, we can all go togetherㅇㅇㅇ
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: You got a new recruit?
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Yeah

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: They’re a buffer, not bad
Figures. With me gone, they needed another newbie for the tourney anyway.
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: They’re not online now

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: But should show up tomorrow afternoon
[Guild] MochaBbang: They seem niceㅇㅅㅇ
[Guild] TheHunter: Kinda… how do I put this

[Guild] TheHunter: Compared to Guildmaster, they’re like polar opposites;
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Got it
Well, I’m part of EveningGlow now, gotta run the selection tourney either way, so picking up little bits of info doesn’t hurt.

‘And they’re a buffer.’
Thanks to CottonCandyFox, I learned real fast how crucial buffers are during fights. Especially for classes like Ru Mage, where cooldowns are long and there’s tons of restrictions, buffs are a lifesaver.
‘…Wait, hold on.’

Isn’t CottonCandyFox Yoo Chae? That bastard… After all that, he’s here asking me where to raid? Shameless prick.
I was planning to let it slide tonight, but nope—this is too damn irritating.
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Actually

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: I’ve got a raid party alreadyㅋ
[Guild] Yoo Chae: ??
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Same party I cleared Keyrunt with

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: We’re super tight-knit
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Would feel wrong to ditch them^^
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] Hwaseoun: fuckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ㅋㅋㅋ..
[Guild] MochaBbang: heh…;

I grinned, watching Yoo Chae sit there, too flustered to say anything.
Bet you didn’t see that coming, huh? Sucks to suck, bastard.
[Guild] ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) Yoo Chae: Hyung, but

[Guild] Yoo Chae: If your party doesn’t show
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You’ll run with us, right?
[Guild] Yoo Chae: You will, right? With me?ㅜㅡㅜ

“…..”
Reading Yoo Chae’s delayed message left me speechless.
‘If you’re gonna lie, at least put some effort into it, psycho.’

Rubbing my temple as a headache kicked in, I sighed. Honestly, it’d be less painful if he just screamed, “I’m actually CottonCandyFox, hyung!” at this point.
But I already ran my mouth saying we made up, can’t exactly cuss him out now…
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Why’re you so desperate to raid with meㅎㅎ;

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: I’ll just run with my usual group
[Guild] Yoo Chae: No, I don’t wanna
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Run with me

[Guild] Yoo Chae: With me!ㅜㅜ
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: What’s your deal, fuck
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Go with the other guild members

[Guild] ManaIsDryGuy: Like they’d agree to that
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Where would I go without you, hyung!
[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: Oh myyy~

[Guild] Haerun: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: oh fuckㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Damn, what a pure love story we got here;

[Guild] Let’sTripleJump: So wait
[Guild] Let’sTripleJump: Do we have to watch Guildmaster do this forever now
[Guild] Haerun: Yeah

[Guild] MochaBbang: Ugh, I feel like leaving the guild..
[Guild] TheHunter: You guys made up
[Guild] TheHunter: Might as well get married while you’re at it

[Guild] Hwaseoun: Ooo, think big, I like it
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Go go go
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Hurry up and get married

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: So you can use Partner Chat
[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: Our Guildmaster
[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: Has a ton of money y’know

[Guild] ProductOfCapitalism: These days…
[Guild] ProductOfCapitalism: Money’s all that matters..
[Guild] Haerun: Facts

‘Are they seriously saying this?’
I frowned, then saw the usernames and understood.
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Hyung, hyung

[Guild] Yoo Chae: I’m super pretty IRL tooㅎㅡㅎ
[Guild] Hwaseoun: lol say that after showing your face
[Guild] Haerun: You won’t even share your name

[Guild] Haerun: Like hell you’re showing your faceㅋㅋ
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: We’re both guys
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: How would we even get married

[Guild] Yoo Chae: Should I genderbend and come back?
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Try detaching your dick in real life first;
[Guild] Yoo Chae: So we can get married IRL too, hyung? >ㅡ<

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: ?
[Guild] Hwaseoun: Ooo~
[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: Ooo~

[Guild] MeLostInHunt: Who hasn’t done the holy quest yet?
[Guild] MochaBbang: Ooo~
[Guild] TheHunter: I’m down

“Hah, fuck…”
What the hell is wrong with this guy. Forget it. Time to shut down this nonsense.
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Anyway

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Let’s talk raids tomorrow ㄱ
[Guild] Yoo Chae: Yess
Even with that answer, both of us knew we’d end up running raids together eventually. Technically, nothing’s changed.

[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: If you’re raiding with us
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Give us a heads-up
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: Gotta check with the newbie too

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Okay, okay
After sending my reply, I checked the time. Already past 2 a.m. If I wanted to get up, hit my part-time job, and squeeze in training, I needed to sleep now.
[Guild] ImSoSleepy: Logging off for tonight

[Guild] ImSoSleepy: I’m exhausted
[Guild] DrinkWaterPlz: bye bye bye
[Guild] Hwaseoun: Sleepy-nim, good night~

[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ㅃㅃ
[Guild] Haerun: The real “I’m So Sleepy” momentㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] Haerun: lmfaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: ?..
[Guild] MochaBbang: what the fuck
[Guild] LaggingLikeHell: What kinda bullshit

Guild member Haerun’s contribution points set to 0.
[Guild] Haerun: Huh?
[Guild] TakeItIt’sFree: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ

[Guild] ParkSeungjin99: ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
[Guild] SpicyCrabPlz: Cold as hell, lmfaoㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ
“…….”

Fucking lunatics…
I quietly backspaced the goodbye I was typing and closed out of Zenoris without another word.